Vatican Radio REPORT This Sunday pilgrims and tourists
walked around St Peter’s Square without hearing the traditional recitation of
the Angelus by the Pope. The Church is now in the period of the Sede Vacante or
Vacant See.

Before his resignation Pope Emeritus Benedict the XVI recited
the Angelus 455 times on Sunday over the course of his
Pontificate.

The period
between Pope Benedict's resignation (February 28 at 2PM, EST) until the election
of his successor later this month is know as "Sede vacante", literally with the
Chair [of St. Peter] vacant.

Instead of
the papal coat of arms being posted on Vatican letterhead, buildings, etc., the
above heraldic representation is used. Let us rememeber to keep Pope Benedict in
our prayers, as well as the Cardinals who will begin their sessions and
congregations tomorrow morning and afternoon until they are ready to set a date
for the Conclave to start.

Here is a
prayer provided by the Knights of Columbus that is suitable for this
period:

O Lord Jesus Christ,
Supreme Pastor of Your Church, we thank you for the ministry of Pope Benedict
XVI and the selfless care with which he has led us as Successor of Peter, and
Your Vicar on earth.

Good Shepherd, who founded Your Church on the rock of
Peter’s faith and have never left Your flock untended, look with love upon us
now, and sustain Your Church in faith, hope, and
charity.

Grant,
Lord Jesus, in Your boundless love for us, a new Pope for Your Church who will
please You by his holiness and lead us faithfully to You, who are the same
yesterday, today, and forever. Amen.SHARED FROM ARCHBISHOP
PRENDERGRAST

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. on 26 November
1858, Katharine was the second daughter of Francis Anthony Drexel, a wealthy
banker, and his wife, Hannah Jane. The latter died a month after Katharine's
birth, and two years later her father married Emma Bouvier, who was a devoted
mother, not only to her own daughter Louisa (born 1862), but also to her two
step-daughters. Both parents instilled into the children by word and example
that their wealth was simply loaned to them and was to be shared with
others.

Katharine was educated privately at home; she travelled
widely in the United States and in Europe. Early in life she became aware of the
plight of the Native Americans and the Blacks; when she inherited a vast fortune
from her father and step-mother, she resolved to devote her wealth to helping
these disadvantaged people. In 1885 she established a school for Native
Americans at Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Later, during an audience with Pope Leo XIII, she asked him
to recommend a religious congregation to staff the institutions which she was
financing. The Pope suggested that she herself become a missionary, so in 1889
she began her training in religious life with the Sisters of Mercy at
Pittsburgh.

In 1891, with a few companions, Mother Katharine founded the
Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. The title of
the community summed up the two great driving forces in her life—devotion to the
Blessed Sacrament and love for the most deprived people in her country.

Requests for help reached Mother Katharine from various
parts of the United States. During her lifetime, approximately 60 schools were
opened by her congregation. The most famous foundation was made in 1915; it was
Xavier University, New Orleans, the first such institution for Black people in
the United States.

In 1935 Mother Katharine suffered a heart attack, and in
1937 she relinquished the office of superior general. Though gradually becoming
more infirm, she was able to devote her last years to Eucharistic adoration, and
so fulfil her life’s desire. She died at the age of 96 at Cornwell Heights,
Pennsylvania, on 3 March 1955. Her cause for beatification was introduced in
1966; she was declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II on 26 January 1987, by
whom she was also beatified on 20 November
1988.

Journalists today demanded extra security after a
correspondent working for a private news channel was gunned down in a tribal
area known to be a hotbed of Taliban and al-Qaeda activity.Malik Mumtaz Khan
was shot dead in the town of Miranshah, North Waziristan, on Wednesday as he was
returning home. No one has so far claimed responsibility for the
killing.“Reporting in these areas has become a major threat. We are not
against anybody and simply portray reality, but our worries increase when no
killers are arrested,” said Pervez Iqbal, a Peshawar-based reporter.Many
districts in North Waziristan are considered no-go areas and strongholds of
al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Thousands of local people have still to return home
after fleeing military operations against the militants launched in
2009.“Armed militants interrogate and abuse us at checkpoints when we go
there. Local connections, not language, can save you,” said Iqbal, who has been
a reporter for more than three decades.Pakistan has been ranked the most
dangerous country for journalists in South Asia, according to a report by the
South Asia Media Commission.Of the 25 journalists killed in South Asia last
year, 13 were from Pakistan, the report states.The Human Rights Commission
of Pakistan has condemned Mumtaz Khan’s murder.“There is a continuation of a
disturbing trend of increasing violence against journalists. The fact that
Mumtaz is the fifth journalist to be killed in the first two months of 2013
highlights the vulnerability and the threats those in the journalism profession
face,” commission chairman Zohra Yusuf said on Thursday.“This murder and
past episodes are direct attacks on freedom of the media. The response of both
the federal and provincial governments has been completely inadequate as
journalists continue to be attacked with impunity,” he said in a
statement.“We call upon the government to bring the culprits to justice and
further take all necessary measures to guarantee the safety of journalists in
order to allow … them to work freely and without intimidation.”SHARED FROM
UCAN NEWS

Father Maurizio Pettena Director of the
Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office

The serious
allegations against one asylum seeker should not be grounds to treat all asylum
seekers as criminals, says Father Maurice Pettenà, Director of the Australian
Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office (ACMRO).Referring to the arrest this
week of an asylum seeker for an alleged sexual assault on a female student at
the Macquarie University, Fr Pettanà says it is deeply concerning that the
arrest has been followed by calls to stop allowing men, women and children
seeking asylum to live within the community on bridging visas while awaiting
assessment of their applications for resettlement as refugees."ACMRO fully
supports the current Government policy of hosting asylum seekers in the
community and have great respect for the decision to increase Australia's
humanitarian intake to 20,000 each year," he says."Asylum seekers are not
criminals and should not be treated as such," he insists and reiterated one
ACMRO's commitment to defend the right of all people to seek asylum.

"The
hosting of asylum seekers in the community is an entirely appropriate, effective
and humane way for Australia to respond," he says.

Refugees often live in appalling conditions and
risk their lives on boats in a bid to find safety and a future

Citing
the thousands of Australians who have volunteered their time, energy and
compassion to helping asylum seekers, he pointed to the warm and ongoing
friendships that had developed between the new arrivals and those who were
helping them rebuild their lives and be welcomed as contributing members of
local communities."Helping asylum seekers in settle into the community and
offering the hand of friendship is both a joy and a wonderful gift for
Catholics," he says and quotes from the Book of Matthew 25:40: "Whatever you did
for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for
me."

Having listened to story after story from many families and
individuals and the terrible misery and violence suffered before being forced to
flee war torn countries and persecution, Fr Pettenà says "it is heartbreaking
witness in which the hostile way asylum seekers are treated once they arrive in
Australia."

Behind high fences and razor wire on Manus
where asylum seekers including children may be forced to stay for five years or
more

"The fact remains that current policies on boarder control are
already too tough," he claims and points out that in the past three years alone
the Government's continued use of mandatory and indefinite immigration detention
has resulted in several suicides and countless self-harm incidents, many of
which involve children."On top of this children and families continue to be
detained in remote regional areas and more recently on Nauru and Manus Island
under appalling conditions" he says and describes calls for a further toughening
of asylum seeker policy "incredibly disappointing.""The calls for even
harsher treatment of asylum seekers who land on our shores seeking a safe haven
reflects a policy of fear pursued at the expense of human dignity and the moral
obligation to afford protection for the most vulnerable," he says.SHARED
FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY

ASIA NEWS REPORTThe arrest came after a complaint by some Islamists annoyed at
Christian images carried by the group of Egyptians, all street and market
vendors in Benghazi. Each one forced to shave their head in punishment. For the
authorities, they are illegal immigrants and their detention has nothing to do
with religion.

Benghazi
(AsiaNews / Agencies) - Islamists in Benghazi continue their hunt of Christian
workers in the country accusing them of proselytism. The latest case concerns
the arrest of 48 Egyptian Coptic Orthodox traders arrested last week in the
capital of Cyrenaica. They were detained after a complaint by some Libyans,
suspicious of the religious imagery on the vendors boards and stalls in the
market of Benghazi. In a video immediately seized by police they appear locked
in a small room watched over by men who have the typical beard worn by Salafists
(see photo). From the pictures the 48 appear in an obvious state of physical
deterioration, many show bruises and abrasions. Each of them had their head
shaved.

The case has sparked outrage among the population of Benghazi,
which in October rose up against the Salafi militias accused of having organized
the attack on the U.S. consulate in which Ambassador Christopher Stevens was
killed. Yesterday, the authorities issued a statement in which they declare that
the hawkers were arrested for violating immigration laws and not for religious
reasons. However, this is yet another case of discrimination against Christians
living in Libya. In
mid-February four foreigners - an Egyptian, a South African, a South Korean
and a Swede with a U.S. passport - were arrested on charges of distributing
Bibles and other religious material.

The spread of Islamic extremism is
also affecting the Catholic religious orders present for decades on Libyan
territory, engaged in hospital work and looking after the elderly. In January,
the Islamists prompted the flight of the Franciscan Sisters of the Infant Jesus
from Barce and the Ursuline Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus from Beida. In
October instead it was the turn of nuns from the Convent of the Holy Family
of Spoleto in Derna, forced to leave Libya due to continuous threats from
Islamic extremists, despite the opposition of the inhabitants of the
city.

Born at Prague in the year 1200; died probably in 1281. She
was the daughter of Ottocar, King of Bohemia and Constance of Hungary, a
relative of St. Elizabeth. At an early age she was sent to the monastery of
Treinitz, where at the hands of the Cistercian religious she received the
education that became her rank. She was betrothed to Frederick II, Emperor of
Germany; but when the time arrived for the solemnization of the marriage, it was
impossible to persuade her to abandon the resolution she had made of
consecrating herself to the service of God in the sanctuary of the cloister. The
Emperor Frederick was incensed at the unsuccessful issue of his matrimonial
venture, but, on learning that St. Agnes had left him to become the spouse of
Christ, he is said to have remarked: "If she had left me for a mortal man, I
would have taken vengeance with the sword, but I cannot take offence because in
preference to me she has chosen the King of Heaven." The servant of God entered
the Order of St. Clare in the monastery of St. Saviour at Prague, which she
herself had erected. She was elected abbess of the monastery, and became in this
office a model of Christian virtue and religious observance for all. God
favoured her with the gift of miracles, and she predicted the victory of her
brother Wenceslaus over the Duke of Austria. The exact year of her death is not
certain; 1281 is the most probable date.